Straight Outta Cobham: The Athletic FC's Chelsea show

Signing off on a sorry season...Matt Davies-Adams has got the whole SOC squad alongside him for a round up of the 2025-26 season for Chelsea Football Club. What are the main takeaways and reflections on this crazy campaign? What does not being in Europe mean from a financial perspective? Who have been the big winners and losers in the squad? And what's top of Xabi Alonso's to-do list heading into the summer?!We'll be with you throughout the summer with squad audits, mailbags, academy check-ins, CFC at the World Cup - and assessing the rather large job the new boss has got on his hands! Thanks for all your continued support and for joining us throughout the season. Take part in our survey and let us know what you want from SOC going forward! forms.gle/S7Qdv1iPPnaemtps7HOST: Matt Davies-Adams WITH: Luke Bosher, Simon Johnson, Cerys Jones, Liam Twomey & Sam Parkin PRODUCER: Lucy Oliva

A dire end to a dire season...Matt Davies-Adams is joined by Simon Johnson and Sam Parkin for a look back on the 2-1 defeat Sunderland - which condemns Chelsea to a 10th-placed finish in the Premier League.The Blues were outplayed and outfought by their hosts - and that added to Wesley Fofana's red card sums up what a poor season it's been.Thankfully all was not lost this weekend - with the U18's crowned winners of the Under-18 Premier League National Final after a 5-1 win over Manchester City.We'll be back on Thursday with our full review of the 2025-26 season - and a look ahead to a defining summer for Chelsea and new manager Xabi Alonso.Take part in our survey and tell us what you want from SOC! forms.gle/S7Qdv1iPPnaemtps7HOST: Matt Davies-AdamsWITH: Sam Parkin and Simon JohnsonPRODUCER: Lucy Oliva

It's Tottenham, lads...Matt Davies-Adams has got two of The Athletic's finest - Cerys Jones and Luke Bosher - alongside him for a look back on the absolutely inevitable but pretty unconvincing 2-1 victory over Tottenham at the Bridge on Tuesday night.Then - the end is (finally) here! The Blues make the trip to Sunderland on Sunday - with a place in either the Europa League, Conference League or nothing! - at stake.We'll be back on Monday with a look back on the final game of another crazy season for Chelsea Football Club.HOST: Matt Davies-AdamsWITH: Luke Bosher and Cerys JonesPRODUCER: Lucy Oliva

Matt Davies-Adams has got The Athletic's Simon Johnson and Liam Twomey for company after a rather busy days for Chelsea Football Club...A seventh straight defeat in a final at Wembley? Bad.Xabi Alonso announced as the new Blues manager? Now, that's more like it!We've got all the latest on Alonso's appointment, plus a look back on the narrow 1-0 defeat by Manchester City in the FA Cup final AND a look ahead to the visit of Tottenham in the Premier League on Tuesday night. Can they sign off at Stamford Bridge on a high by taking Spurs' relegation battle to the last day of the season?Plus - an emotional goodbye for Millie Bright and Sam Kerr - who scored on her final CFCW appearance to beat Manchester United and equal Fran Kirby's goalscoring record as Sonia Bompastor's side wrap up a third-placed finish in the WSL. We'll be back with you on Wednesday - hot off the back of events at the Bridge - to bring you reaction to the Tottenham game and look ahead to the final day of the season at Sunderland.HOST: Matt Davies-AdamsWITH: Liam Twomey and Simon JohnsonPRODUCER: Lucy Oliva

Surely the Wembley curse has to come to an end eventually?!Matt Davies-Adams is joined by The Athletic's Liam Twomey and Luke Bosher for a mega look ahead to Saturday's FA Cup final against Manchester City at Wembley.Do the Blues have any hope of beating Pep's men given their 13-game winless streak against them? What are the key selection issues heading into the final? And just what an incredible achievement would it be for Calum McFarlane to lead this side to an unlikely moment of glory in an otherwise chaotic season? Off the pitch, there's protests planned at Wembley ahead of the match - and on Tuesday night against Tottenham at the Bridge. Liam speaks to organisers David and Jacob from NotAProjectCFC to find out more about this latest action - and whether there's any way back for BlueCo in the eyes of the supporters. Plus - we've got word from David Ornstein on the news he broke earlier this week that Xabi Alonso is at the forefront of Chelsea's thinking as they seek a new head coach.We'll be back on Monday with all the reaction and fallout from events at the national stadium on Saturday afternoon... can they do it!? HOST: Matt Davies-Adams WITH: Luke Bosher and Liam Twomey PRODUCER: Lucy Oliva

Seven straight defeats? Not in these parts...Matt Davies-Adams calls up Simon Johnson and Sam Parkin for a look back on the 1-1 draw with Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday lunchtime.We take the positives from a far better showing that the sorry Forest defeat, laud the return of Levi Colwill - starting his first game of the season - and ponder whether this will be the boost they need to go into a Wembley final with at least an improved chance of beating Pep's side... Plus, Cerys Jones pops by for the madness of the Women's FA Cup semi-final at Stamford Bridge, which saw Chelsea squander a two-goal lead to be knocked out 3-2 in extra-time by Manchester City.And - any update on the managerial hunt?! And the U18's finish off their title-winning regular season campaign in style...We'll be back on Thursday with a more comprehensive look ahead to Saturday's Wembley showdown with Manchester City in the FA Cup final.HOST: Matt Davies-AdamsWITH: Simon Johnson, Sam Parkin & Cerys JonesPRODUCER: Lucy Oliva

News just in... unfortunately we can't forfeit this game...Matt Davies-Adams is once again joined by two of The Athletic's finest - Simon Johnson and Liam Twomey - for a look ahead to the weekend trip to Merseyside to take on Liverpool.Will the players actually bother to try and put in some kind of performance on Saturday? What players are even available? And do they need to string a couple of results together to have any hope going into the FA Cup final? Plus - we discuss the announcement of changes to the club's ticketing policy next season - and what the ramifications could be. Oh, and Super Frank! He's been speaking to The Athletic's Tom Burrows after guiding Coventry City back to the Premier League. We'll be back on Monday with a look back on events at Anfield - and see whether Chelsea Women have managed to book their place in an FA Cup final. HOST: Matt Davies-Adams WITH: Liam Twomey Simon Johnson PRODUCER: Lucy Oliva

Can the season just end now?Matt Davies-Adams enlists The Athletic's Chelsea experts Liam Twomey and Simon Johnson for our latest doomcast after the horror show against an unrecognisable Nottingham Forest.What can you even say after that performance?! The lack of effort, the shortcomings all over the field, the terrible end to what should have been a special day for Jesse Derry, the magnificent Joao Pedro goal which will sadly be nothing more than an after-thought in an afternoon to forget. Elsewhere - CFCW seal UWCL football! But the U21's season is over after PL2 play-off quarter-final defeat. Plus, legendary goalkeeper Petr Cech shares his reflections on the current state of the club.We'll be back on Thursday for the look ahead to Saturday's trip to Anfield to take on Liverpool... they haven't won their since March 2021 - what could possibly go wrong?HOST: Matt Davies-AdamsWITH: Simon Johnson and Liam TwomeyPRODUCER: Lucy OlivaJoin our FPL league!https://fantasy.premierleague.com/leagues/auto-join/7lntvqLeague Code: 7lntvq

MDA Derby pending...Matt Davies-Adams has got Sam Parkin and Liam Twomey for company - and a smorgasbord of Chelsea-related chatter to get stuck into ahead of a busy weekend of action.We look ahead to the visit of Nottingham Forest. We discuss any managerial developments and hear from Italian football expert James Horncastle on why it may be difficult to tempt Cesc Fabregas away from Como. We chat Mudryk's CAS appeal and what comes next. We're joined by women's football writer of the year Charlotte Harpur to discuss legend Millie Bright's retirement! And we try and name a bunch of 17-year-olds who made their Premier League debuts. We'll be back on Tuesday with a look back on the Bank Holiday festivities at Stamford Bridge as the Blues look to keep their hopes of European football alive! HOST: Matt Davies-Adams WITH: Liam Twomey, Sam Parkin and Charlotte Harpur PRODUCER: Lucy OlivaJoin our FPL league! https://fantasy.premierleague.com/leagues/auto-join/7lntvqLeague Code: 7lntvq